Unfamiliar Territory
by AgentMandark
Summary: Everyone knew Dumbledore was a little loopy, but no one expected him to create a "ghost hunting" class, much less one that was run by some wacky American. Having never experienced muggle ghosts, Hogwarts is in for a rude awakening this year…
1. An Awkward Entrance

**Note: In Harry Potter: Takes place during _Order of the Phoenix_. In Danny Phantom: Slight AU in that Danny's older, and all the events (with the exception of the Disasteroid) have already occurred. **

**Disclaimer: I'm a broke college student. I own nothing. **

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_**Chapter One: An Awkward Entrance**_

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"He's nuts," Ron muttered, staring angrily at his mashed potatoes. "Completely, utterly nuts."

The rest of the Great Hall seemed to share the redhead's sentiment, considering the harsh, angry whispers that raked across all four houses. A new, fifth-year-mandatory class had been added by Dumbledore just a few weeks before the start of Hogwarts term, throwing off both students and professors alike.

What was even odder was the subject it was involved in.

Rolling his eyes, Ron mocked, "I mean, really, who in their bloody right mind makes a _ghost hunting _course? Ghosts can't even touch us!" To emphasize his point, he discreetly tossed a small pea at Nearly-Headless-Nick a couple seats over, the pea harmlessly passing through. Nick didn't even look up as he continued talking to a couple of Gryffindor first-years about his dream to be one of the horsemen.

Shaking his head sadly, Ron looked forlornly into eyes of his two best friends and said, "Guys, I think Dumbledore's officially off his rocker."

Harry Potter, having had a few issues with Dumbledore himself with the events that had occurred over the summer, glanced at the old man in question, wondering just what, exactly, he could be planning. If past experience was anything to go by, Dumbledore usually had a reason and motive for the things he did, regardless of how odd or sporadic they may seem to an outsider.

He redirected his glance to Hermione Granger. Seeming to pick up on his silent question of _what-do-you-think?_, she stated, "I believe there's a more troubling matter that we should be concerned with right now."

"Like _what?_" Ron outburst. "The color of our socks?"

Glaring, Hermione crisply responded, "_No_. For the record, I'm talking about the stranger sitting next to Dumbledore."

Sure enough, next to Dumbledore, there she was—a strange woman wearing a pink suit, a peculiar, cheery smile plastered on her toad-like face.

Harry felt the blood drain from his face as he recognized her—one of the Ministry officials from the trial over the summer. She definitely hadn't sided with him, if her demeaning words and vote were anything to go by.

"She's from the Ministry," Harry muttered, catching Ron and Hermione's attention. "She was at the hearing."

Hermione looked like she was about to say something, but the sudden clinging of glasses brought everyone's attention to the front of the hall. Dumbledore was standing up, a glass and fork in his hands, smiling pleasantly at the students.

"With another year of Hogwarts begun, I beg a few moments of your time to make a couple of important announcements.

"First-years should know the Forbidden Forest is, as its name implies, forbidden. Upper year students should know this as well, though some of you seem to forget from time to time…"

Harry pointedly ignored this.

"Mr. Filch would like me to pass on the message that no magic is permitted in the hallways, nor are many other things that you can find on a long list outside his office door.

"Now, as most of you know, there has been a new addition to the school courses this year: Ghost Hunting is currently a mandatory fifth-year class, one of which will be taught by a new staff member. I would introduce you to him if he were here right now, however, it appears he is running a tad late…"

The trio looked at each other anxiously. No one ever ran late to Hogwarts' feast.

"But in his absence, I will introduce a returning Professor Grubblyplank—our new Care of Magical Creatures teacher. Also, I'd like to show you the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor: Dolores Umbridge."

The hall applauded, albeit unenthuisiastically, during which Harry felt a sinking feeling in his chest. If Grubblyplank was the new Care of Magical Creatures professor, where was Hagrid?

"Quidditch tryouts will take place…" Dumbledore trailed off then, glancing sideways at Professor Umbridge. She had coughed a little '_hem-hem_' and immediately, the headmaster went silent, stepping back as if to hand over the spotlight to her.

"What the…?" Ron whispered, glancing back-and-forth between Dumbledore and Umbridge. "Did she just _hush Dumbledore?"_

Evidently, she had. Walking towards the front of the Great Hall, an eerie smile on her face, the toad-like woman began, "Greetings, one and all, to another fresh year at Hogwarts. I am just _so delighted_ to see all your warm, inviting faces!

"I would just like to take a moment to…_educate_ you of the importance of my presence here, as well as remind you of the significance of the Ministry's involvement. The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction…"

People were already chatting as if she wasn't in the middle of a grand speech. Even Ron had gone back to eating his meal, completely oblivious to whatever Umbridge was rambling about. Harry had tried to pay attention—really, he had—but hearing the toad cheerily discuss all of the achievements of the Ministry with elaborate and in-depth detail?

Yeah, he could pass on that.

Harry did notice Hermione, surprisingly, was at rapt attention, staring attentively at the Ministry official the entire duration of the speech. He had to mentally applaud her—regardless of level of intelligence, listening to a rant worse than a lesson in History of Magic took extreme effort.

Fortunately, it seemed as if Umbridge had finally finished. With a perfect, pink-lipped grin still occupying her face, she exclaimed energetically, "With that said, I'm sure we're all going to get along just fi—"

Cutting her off, the doors of the Great Hall crashed open, resulting in a large _BOOM_ resonating through the hall. The sudden rush of air caused all the enchanted candles to flicker wildly and the napkins on the tables to drift away. The students and teachers gasped in panic, searching for the culprit…

...And finding one lone, scrawny teenager huffing tiredly in the middle of the doorway, bent over with his hands on his knees. His bright, baby blue eyes stared apologetically at the Headmaster.

"I…I am _so, _so s-sorry…"

Clumsily, he grabbed his luggage and walked at a brisk pace up the staff table, his gravity-defying black locks adding more to his frazzled demeanor. The entire Great Hall, save Dumbledore, was staring at him in shock, and already the rumor mill was beginning to turn.

Once he reached the staff's table, he promptly chugged his belongings to the ground, turned around, and looked over the rest of the Hall with a nervous smile.

"Hey guys, I apologize for the whole tardiness thing…you know how confusing airports can be." He attempted a laugh at this, but upon realizing no one understood the joke, he continued on, "Name's Fenton, Danny Fenton," again, he seemed to be referencing an inside joke, but at the descending silence he finally just gave up and concluded, "I'll be your 'Ghost Hunting' professor, so to speak and I, uh, can't wait to work with you guys."

With that last piece, he went to go sit at the staff table next to Grubblyplank, a bright, red blush following him to his seat.

Seeming to feel a bit sympathetic for the sap, Dumbledore explained, "Mr. Fenton is, if you can't tell by the accent, American, so do please try to make him feel welcome, as he is far away from home. That being said, I'd like to end off on just a few words: lemon drops, butternuts, and spaghetti squash!"

The whispers from earlier were nothing compared to now: Umbridge, no more Hagrid, and _an American Ghost-hunting Professor?_

_This_, Harry reflected, noticing the bright, red flush on Umbridge's face and the oblivious look on the new professor, _is going to be an interesting year._

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**WOW. I _finally_ got this out of my head! If I had a penny for every fanfiction plot bunny I had typed up, hidden away on my computer, I'd be filthy rich!**

**In reading a bunch of Danny Phantom and Harry Potter crossovers, I noticed not one of them involved Danny being a teacher. Thus, with a little spark of creativity and a sudden desire to see the results of mixing Hogwarts with a bunch of crazy ghosts, this was born!**

**I kind of rushed through writing it, and haven't edited anything yet. Plus, I'm not up-to-date on Harry Potter (unfortunately). It's been way too long since I've read it…if anyone is interested/knows of someone who can beta-read for me, please let me know. Lord knows I could use it…**


	2. Stranger

**Note: I'm a little shocked at how many people actually enjoyed reading this! Believe it or not, I do read through the reviews and take them to heart. So if you've left one—or even if you've stopped by to favorite/alert/read—I'd like to thank you personally :). It means a lot!**

**This came out pretty fast (well, 'fast' for me at least!), but that's mostly due to the fact that I typed it most of it up over break, and finished the rest of it on a snow day. The next installment may take some time, but here's a lengthy chapter that, hopefully, will compensate! I'm aiming to have one chapter a month, so we'll see how that goes.**

**In advance: I'm sorry for the lame beginning. As much as I wish I could just jump to the juicy parts, I need to explain everything that happens in-between. Again, none of this is edited (Beta reader, where art thou?).**

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_**Chapter 2: Stranger**_

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Harry wasn't in a good mood when he woke up.

Not that he had been in a good mood at all in the past couple of months, being holed up at the Dursleys without any sort of contact from his friends; but he figured being at Hogwarts would change things.

And, as usual, he was wrong.

For one thing, after the Welcome-Back feast the night prior, his best friends—the only people in the school who didn't think he was some nut job looking for attention—ditched him. Because of their new "prefect" duties, which he was still questioning how Ron had earned in the first place, they had to escort the first years, leaving Harry to awkwardly wander the halls alone.

Then, by the time Ron and Hermione _had_ caught up with him, he had entered the common room only to have the people who had grown up with him in the past few years stare at him in disgust and horror.

Which then led into a fight with Dean and Seamus, his supposed "friends" who doubled as roommates.

Needless to say, Harry's fifth year had taken off to a bad start.

And go figure he would wake up late—late enough that all his roommates, save Ron, were already gone.

_Unless they intentionally left early so they wouldn't have to talk to me_, thought Harry bitterly.

Sighing, he forced himself up, knowing that self-pity would get him nowhere. Judging by the harsh, blinding sunlight that streamed through the window, it must have been well past 7, probably closer to 8 AM. Meaning that he had under an hour to get ready, eat breakfast, and make it on time to class.

He shoved his covers on the floor, standing up into a stretch. Upon hearing the _crack _in his muscles, he dressed up in the Hogwarts uniform, not even bothering to deal with the mop of black hair on his head. While pulling his robes over his uniform, he pondered about the new staffing additions, particularly one Dolores Umbridge. Hermione had mentioned at the feast last night that, whatever reason Umbridge was here for, it meant the Ministry was getting involved.

Harry personally held no opinion on what it meant, but her presence made him uncomfortable all the same. There was just something about her smile, her manicured nails, her proper, fancy outfits, and nicely-kept hair that felt _off_. While she was always smiling, the smile itself felt too plastic, as if a toymaker had gotten a paintbrush and smeared it on manually. Her overall appearance gave Harry the impression that he was dealing with a toad—an ugly, poisonous, _evil _toad.

And if the disconsolate expressions of the students last night were anything to go by, he wasn't the only one.

"Ron," Harry called, beginning to gather his books. "Ron, wake up, first day of classes, mate."

As expected, he received a loud snore in response.

Smirking, Harry said loudly, "I suppose that means you won't be joining me for breakfast, then?"

The reaction was instantaneous: Ron shot out of bed like a rocket, suddenly rushing around the room to get dressed and assort his book supplies.

"Harry, why didn't you wake me up sooner?!" he exclaimed in annoyance, stuffing shoes hurriedly on his feet.

Waiting by the door, a smug look on his face, the Boy-Who-Lived shrugged. He settled on watching Ron run like a madman through the room, throwing random shenanigans all over the floor and muttering curses every now and then. It seemed like hours when Ron finally finished, robes on and supplies in hand.

Bounding up to Harry, he burst, "Well, what are you standing there for? Are we getting food or not?"

Without waiting for an answer, he shoved past Harry and sped towards the direction of the Great Hall. Unable to help it, Harry let loose a large grin. It comforted him a little to know that, whereas the rest of Hogwarts would have issues with him because of his so-called "lies", the only issue Ron would _ever _have with him would be waking up late and missing out on breakfast.

He followed after his best friend, passing by moving staircases and gossiping classmates, in a struggle to keep up. It was quite ironic how the one who could barely keep up with Hagrid shuffling around could suddenly develop an intense speed that rivaled a centaur.

After practically sprinting the whole way there, the duo arrived at Great Hall. Scouting out the Gryffindor table they spotted Hermione, who waved them over enthusiastically. Sitting with her were Neville, Ginny, and the Weasley twins, all of whom were almost done with breakfast.

"Blimey," Ron complained as they reached the table, "Almost didn't wake up this morning, it was so early."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You're lucky McGonagall didn't hand out time tables yet."

"Never mind that," Ron dismissed, plopping himself on a bench and grabbing the scrambled eggs that materialized from thin air, "I'm lucky the food's not gone yet!"

His siblings snickered at the response, while Hermione simply sighed.

"Did you guys hear about the new professor?" Fred (or George?) inquired, as Harry seated himself next to Ron and took some eggs as well.

"People are sayin' all of the ghosts love him…"

"…Because if they don't he'll beat the bloody pulp out of them…"

"…Since apparently he's the _only one _who can touch ghosts—"

"Oi!" Ginny exclaimed, cutting the twins off. "Knocker off! You know that's a load of shite."

But Ron was already suckered into the tale, interested enough to ignore his food for the moment. Eyes round with wonder, he asked, "You don't say?"

"Oh yeah! You didn't hear?" one started.

The other continued, "His course is called _Ghost Hunting_. Obviously the ghosts are suckering up so he doesn't exorcise them."

"_He's an exorcist?"_

Hermione and Harry shared an amused look before shaking their heads simultaneously.

"Whatever happens," said one of the twins, "You lot better tell us _every _grimy detail of his class!"

Ron blinked in confusion. "Wait, you two aren't taking it?"

They laughed in sync with one another, waving a flippant hand at Ron's question. "As if we're going to take on class on _hunting ghosts_," they chorused, erupting into laughter afterwards. Trademark of his Weasley heritage, Ron's ears flamed up.

"Really, what's the point of ghost hunting when…"

"…Ghosts aren't a threat to begin with?"

"Look at Peeves," Ginny interjected, "he's plenty enough of a threat! Did you see what he did to that poor first-year last term?"

Hermione pointed out, "Granted that's true, Peeves is also a poltergeist—a completely separate class from just normal ghosts."

"Do you think Professor Fenton will make us hunt poltergeists then?" asked Neville, who appeared to be deep in thought. "It would make sense, wouldn't it?"

The group contemplated that, each of them growing quiet. Neville brought up a good question; but even then, would Dumbledore _really_ allow someone to hunt ghosts, especially when Hogwarts castle was full of them?

"Well, you know what?" Harry said, effectively breaking the silence, "I guess we'll just have to find out."

After watching the rebirth of Voldemort, along with Cedric Diggory's death, and now having to tolerate some creepy pink toad lady who most likely had it out for him, Harry already had enough on his mind to worry about. He didn't need the addition of some bonkers American who hunted something as ludicrous as _ghosts_.

There were nods of agreement all around—with the exception of Hermione, who still looked troubled over something. Harry didn't have time to mull over her odd behavior when he noticed McGonagall with a stack of papers heading towards the table

He couldn't tell if he should have felt excited or nervous. Given he had Charms, Transfiguration, and Herbology to look forward to, he wasn't sure how he felt about anything else. Defense Against the Dark Arts with _Umbridge_? A foreboding feeling welled up in his stomach about that combination, a feeling worse than heading to Potions with Snape.

Not to mention Trelawney's weekly death predictions in Divination; last year was painful enough, this year was bound to be _torturous_. There were already thousands of students who thought he was nuts, no doubt Trelawney would make it worse.

"To my lions," McGonagall called out amongst the chatter at the Gryffindor table, "your time tables. Please report to your classes immediately upon receiving them. No time to waste."

Quickly and efficiently, she distributed them among the Gryffindors, stopping lastly at the 'Golden Trio'. She gave Harry, Ron, and Hermione a stern look before deflating slightly and asking, "Is there any point in telling you three to stay out of trouble?"

"Probably not," Ron shrugged, grabbing his schedule out of her outstretched hand. Hermione sent him a death glare.

To compensate for Ron's rudeness, she said politely to McGonagall, "We'll try to."

Handing the last two papers to Harry and Hermione, their Head of House muttered, "For some reason, that does not sound promising." With that last remark, she walked away, leaving the three friends to share a knowing smirk.

"Hey, we don't find trouble. _Trouble_ finds _us_," Harry defended, to which Ron scoffed and slugged him in the shoulder.

"Yeah right, mate. Trouble doesn't find us; trouble finds _you_. Me and Hermione just get caught in the crossfire."

Though Hermione didn't say anything, she opted for a smile, neither confirming nor denying Ron's statement.

Harry rolled his eyes and gestured to their time tables. "Well, shall we get on with it?"

Immediately, the three tore open their envelopes and whipped their schedules out to look over it with anxious eyes. They let out collective gasp when they took note of what they had first.

Ron moaned, "Great, Ghost Hunting first hour, _and_ it's with Slytherin? We're doomed."

In an attempt to lighten the mood, Hermione mentioned wryly, "We could have had Potions, if that's better to your liking."

"Or History of Magic," Harry quipped, though he himself felt a little deflated. First class of the year and it's about learning how to "hunt a ghost" (whatever that meant) with a bunch of snakes?

With a groan, Ron grumbled, "Might as well get it over with as early as possible, right?"

"Where is it again?" Hermione wondered, checking over the list to find the location. "Oh," she said, "Underneath the Astronomy tower."

Harry nodded at first, though after a moment of contemplation, suddenly realized something.

"Wait, _underneath_ the Astronomy tower?" Harry asked, scrunching his eyebrows in confusion. "Are you sure that's right?"

"Apparently so," Ron responded, having checked his own time table for reassurance. He pointed it out to Harry, nodding his head. "Right there, mate."

Feeling more than slightly confused, Harry slowly shook his head. As far as he knew, the Astronomy was the Astronomy tower. That was it. No underneath, beside, or above.

Hermione offered, "Perhaps it was added after Dumbledore hired him?"

With no better explanation, Harry shrugged and stood up from his seat. Ron and Hermione followed his lead, the three of them taking off in the direction of the Astronomy tower.

Soon enough, they reached the entranceway to their destination. Curiously, however, there was a paper arrow taped on the door, pointing to a staircase built into the floor, leading to where Harry assumed was "underneath" the tower. There were faint voices echoing from within—the rest of the class must have been down there already.

"Is it me, or are you guys getting the creeps from that conveniently-place staircase?"

Smacking Ron upside the head, Hermione scowled, "Honestly, Ronald." Taking the lead, she assertively strolled down the stairs, leaving Harry and Ron to stumble hurriedly behind her. Harry heard Ron complain about something that sounded like 'girls on their period' but wisely did not comment.

Wherever they were headed, it was dark—so much so that they almost couldn't see the steps they were descending. Luckily, someone had placed torches on the sides of the stair walls to illuminate the steep, metal passage. If it wasn't so eerily quiet, Harry would have questioned the use of a metal staircase, as opposed to the typical wood or stone material the rest of the castle was composed of.

The further down they went, the less their footsteps echoed and the more they could hear other voices. Eventually, they reached the bottom of the staircase, where they met the rest of their Gryffindor classmates, in addition to the Slytherins reclusively standing off to the side. Neville, amongst the crowd, bounded over to them once noticing their presence.

"Phew, I thought for sure we were late," Ron said in relief, though the look on Neville's face was anything but.

"Actually," he commented, a worried frown in place, "You _are_ late. The professor hasn't shown up yet."

"Impossible," Harry deadpanned, "There's barely anyone in the halls. No way would a professor be running _this _late."

Neville pointed to a large, strange-looking door behind him. "See for yourself."

Shoving the students out of the way—which wasn't that difficult considering they were voluntarily moving away from him—Harry advanced to the front of the group, giving a once-over to a giant, metal contraption that he assumed led to their classroom. It was a door, that was for sure, but it wasn't like any door he had ever seen in Hogwarts, much less _anywhere_. Ingrained in the metal surface were emerald-green lines crossing each other in an odd, grid-like pattern. Upon closer inspection, the light behind the lines almost appeared as if they were moving—as if they were…_alive_.

Behind him, Harry heard Ron murmur in awe, "Merlin's beard…"

The group of students had quieted down, as if waiting for Harry to make some sort of conclusion about the peculiar door before them. However, despite their assumptions, he had no clue what to make of it, other than the deduction that it was some upscale technology.

But then, that didn't make sense. Technology wouldn't—_couldn't _work in Hogwarts. Cell phones, electricity, gadgets…Harry had tried numerous times to bring a couple of trinkets during his first year, only to be forced to throw them away in disappointment.

"Hermione," he beckoned, a curious tone in his voice, "How much do you know about muggle technology?"

Ignoring the sudden bout of whispers, he turned his head to watch Hermione scrutinize the door, her eyebrows furrowed in contemplation.

"Though I've never seen anything like this up close, I must say, it looks…familiar….somehow," she trailed off, her voice taking on a trance-like quality to it. Her eyes roamed over it again before they widened in surprise. "Wait—look at that, there!"

Hermione had pointed to a rectangular device set in the wall, one that Harry recognized from practically every Scy-fy movie he had ever watched.

"I think it's a…handprint scanner?"

A snort brought him out of his musings. "Of course Pothead and Mudblood would know about the _muggle_ piece of crap on the wall."

Harry fought with himself not to turn around and hex Malfoy right there on the spot. Detention wasn't that enticing, but seeing Malfoy turn into a bouncing ferret, however…

"Back off, Malfoy," Ron scowled from beside Harry, his face turning a darker shade of red than his hair. Malfoy sneered, giving him a condescending once-over.

"Oh, you're still Potter's friend, are you? I'm surprised you haven't abandoned him yet…then again, you _are _a Weasley, so the lack of brains is expected."

Before Ron could sputter out an indigenous remark, Draco turned his attention to the device. "Fantastic, not only is loony Dumbledore adding some pointless Ghost Hunting class, but now he's bringing _muggle_ technology inside the castle? Just _wait _until my father hears about this…"

In a tone that just _lured _a challenge, Hermione commented, "And I suppose _you_ know how to work it?"

Draco straightened up with a little 'huff', snobbishly raising his nose upwards to peer at the handprint detector with a glare.

"As if muggle technology can compete with _magic_," he snorted, "Just watch and learn."

Everyone stood back, watching in curiosity as Draco composed himself and dramatically pulled out his wand. The temptation to punch the git in the face was strong, but Harry held back in favor of watching Draco make a fool of himself.

The Slytherin aimed his wand upwards. He did a sort of hair flip, afterwards shaking his body a little, as if preparing himself. Upon the subsequent, anticipating silence of the rest of the young wizards, Draco called out confidently, "_Allohamora!"_

A bright red light shot from the tip of his wand into the scanner. Everyone observed the display with fascination, waiting expectantly for the door to open. Draco himself had a giant sneer on his face, turning around to face Harry. "You see? Simple."

However, instead of opening, the scanner redirected the magic back at Draco. The same bolt of red light hit him square in the face and caused him to tumble in reverse, landing on his back.

Ron snickered. "Wow, Malfoy, you did a number on that thing, let me tell you."

Draco glowered at Ron with all the force and sophisticated grace he could muster. "That should have worked."

"Should have, but it didn't."

That sentence had been spoken by someone new: a certain _someone_ with an American accent.

Eyes widening in disbelief, Harry swiveled around—coming face-to-face with a slyly-grinning Professor Fenton.

Appearing very amused, the American continued, "You'll find that I use a sort of…_special_ kind of technology. One that isn't affected by magic."

The professor stepped around Harry and on-the-floor Draco to approach the device. Everyone held their breath, watching with wide, curious eyes. He raised his hand towards the scanner. After placing it on the pad, a glowing line passed down over the screen, making a strange whizzing noise.

Nothing happened at first. The students were confused, a couple of them sharing unsure glances with their friends. Harry had shot a pointed look to Hermione, to which she shrugged in response.

But then, the entire door came to life—parts of the metal un-attaching themselves from the door to form a variety of unidentifiable tools and weapons. Most of them had transformed into some sort of claw, all of which had taken to prodding the professor's body: his clothes, his skin, his ears, everywhere. Others shifted into what could only be a type of laser, a red, scanning beam slowly traveling over his eyes, hair, and entire body.

By the time the security-door-machine-_thing _(for Harry couldn't place a name to it) was finished, every underage wizard had dumbstruck expressions on their faces.

Clearing his throat, the professor turned around. A mischievous glint in his eye, he remarked, "You guys can go inside now."

No sooner had he made the suggestion that the door had rearranged itself, split in half, and slid into the wall. Completely unfazed, the professor waltzed casually into the classroom, causing the unmoving students to become animated again and trail hastily after him.

On their way inside, Ron whispered to Harry, "I can't believe I'm saying it, but I think that's about the strangest thing I've ever seen in my life. Stranger than _Dumbledore_, even."

Despite having witnessed many quirky and eccentric aspects of the wizarding world, Harry found himself nodding his head in agreement.

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**If there's one thing I've discovered while writing this, it's that I really, really, **_**really**_** do not enjoy writing Harry Potter. **

**I love **_**reading **_**Harry Potter, and the overall movie/book series in general, but writing it is a completely different experience. Please point out any mistakes you might notice. It's difficult writing the setting and point of view of a subject you're not that comfortable with. Having not read the book in ages, I have no recollection of the exact events that occurred, and am going solely off of anything I can recall from the movies. Really, Danny Phantom is more my field of expertise; the only motivation for me to finish this is for sake of writing Professor Danny, nothing more. **

**Frankly, writing in Harry's perspective is **_**frustrating**_**. If I could, I would choose to write in Danny's point-of-view over Harry's any day. *sighs* Unfortunately, though, this story is better off through the eyes of Harry. Danny already knows everything—all the twists and turns that he's going to cause Hogwarts to go through…to write in his POV would ruin all the mystery and excitement! If I do write in his perspective, it'll probably be in later chapters.**

_**ANSWERS TO SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS:**_** A lot of reviewers made inquiries about Danny's current background, regarding topics like Sam and Danny's relationship, Danny's age/appearance, etc. You'll find out soon enough, though that information won't necessarily be important to the plot. I really only made it AU so that this story could work and make sense. It would have been really weird to have a fourteen-year-old Danny Fenton teaching a Hogwarts class, especially with everyone knowing his secret. **

**Until next time~**

_-Amanda_


	3. Changing Impressions

**Note: A lot of you offered suggestions and help, to which, again, THANK YOU! As I have already mentioned, me and Harry aren't on the same wavelength. I just don't like writing him, end of story. I even spelt Alohamora wrong (and currently still am). **

**But, alas, I will trudge through and hope it gets better (ItTicklesLikeCrazy). **

**To anyone who gave ideas, thanks! I can't say I'll use them, because I already know how I want everything to play out and have plenty of ideas on my own, but your ideas make me think and help inspire **_**other **_**ideas for the plot. Thank you :).**

**(Also, if I responded to your review twice/not at all…I am sorry. I'm getting a lot of things mixed up and my computer acts up sometimes…i.e. it says I sent something but then it didn't or it goes to the wrong person…bad combination. This is why I despise technology, lol)**

**So, Danny might come off as being OOC in this chapter. To anyone who might think this, keep in mind that he is older now. With age comes experience, and with experience comes character development. He'll always be clumsy and shy and whatnot, but he isn't stupid. And, most certainly, after being bullied for **_**years, **_**he's done taking everyone's crap. **

**Plus, well, I have the creative license to develop him this way, and that's how it is. LOL. Perks of being the author. **

**ALSO**

**I OFFICIALLY HAVE A BETA READER**

**To those who offered: thank you, but alas I have found one :). Her name is Laura (penname: Lectori Salutem) and she is a wonderful human being who you can thank for helping me edit/post this and all future chapters :D. A shoutout to her for not just being a beta reader, but also a fun friend to talk to ^_^.**

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**_Chapter 3: Changing Impressions_**

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From the start, everyone knew Dumbledore was, for lack of a better word, eccentric. There was that little twinkle in his eyes that unnerved all of those who saw it, and the all-knowing, too-kind smile that made one feel as if he knew more than he let on. Wizards could say all they liked about how much of a crazy lunatic he was; but, in the end, the weirdness and oddities were all just a cover-up. Something to distract others from the true motives he held up his purple-robed sleeve.

When Harry walked into Professor Fenton's room for the first time, he could tell there was something more to Dumbledore's random hiring of an American Ghost-hunting professor.

Living with the Dursleys and being forced to watch Dudley's favorite science-fiction shows, Harry had been exposed to his fair share of laboratories. From Star Trek to Doctor Who—he'd seen it all.

But this, this was something on a whole new level.

He had tried to contain his emotions, but the second he stepped foot into the laboratory, his jaw dropped. It was _huge_. Huge, spacious, and _completely metal. _The walls and floors must have been made from the same material as the door—they, too, had animated green lines travelling around the room in odd twists and patterns.

To top it all off, the entire lab was _stocked_ with technology. Not just typical muggle technology either—highly-developed machinery that Harry had only saw or heard of in fictional movies and book. Lasers lined up on the side, a giant flat-screen tv in the corner, a projector hanging from the ceiling, microscopes and labeled glass beakers filled with unknown chemicals—it was like muggle chemistry, just far more advanced.

How the technology was up and functioning, Harry had no clue. It had shocked him at first to see the door, but this whole room was just way too much. Magic was supposed to interfere with technology—to render it useless. Yet, here he was, standing in the most technology-decked-out room he'd ever laid eyes on. If this was how _he, _a muggle-raised wizard, was feeling, he could only imagine how everyone else felt.

The American's voice brought Harry out of his stupor. "Guys, as awesome as I know my classroom is, I would kind of appreciate it if you sat down at your desks."

He mustn't have been the only one shocked into awe, judging by the blushes on all the others' faces. Immediately, the Slytherins and Gryffindors parted, one group headed towards the left side of the room, and the other to the right side. The professor observed with pursed lips as they wandered to their desks, but said nothing else.

Once everyone was situated, he clapped his hands. "All right. So. I have a feeling most of you aren't used to this."

Harry glanced to his left, noting Ron's dumbfounded stare. Though, for once, he wasn't alone.

"And that's perfectly okay. I understand that magical folks such as yourselves aren't accustomed to this technology. If it makes you guys feel any better, muggles aren't either. The room you're in right now is a one-of-a-kind, super-advanced laboratory, one that not many people know about."

Impressed glances were shared throughout the class, although Malfoy, who was a couple seats across from Harry, bore an exasperated look.

"Well, first thing's first. The name's, as I told you at the feast, Daniel Fenton. I know proper etiquette calls for you to address me as Professor Fenton."

He frowned at the end of his sentence, waited a moment, and continued, "Thing is, I'm not so big on the formal stuff. It's just, I dunno, weird. It reminds me of my high school English teacher, so, er, just stick to calling me Danny, okay?"

As he scanned the class, no one said anything. Aside from a few background whirring noises (most likely from the machines), it was completely silent, and the atmosphere got slightly uncomfortable.

He continued, "I guess I'll tell you guys a little bit about myself. For starters…_I am not a teenager."_

His tone had gone from light and nervous to bold and serious instantly. His eyes stared sternly into everyone else's, making some students avoid eye contact and fidget. The sudden change shocked Harry. From what he gathered at the feast, this professor was of the clumsy sort—gawky and socially awkward. He stuttered most of the time, and almost reminded Harry of Professor Quirrell in the beginning of his first year.

Somehow, in a few seconds, Danny did a complete 360 in attitude—completely crumbling everything Harry thought he knew about him.

"Despite what you guys may think," he said, a tinge of annoyance in his tone, "I'm actually 22. Yes, I know, I have a baby face that old ladies feel inclined to pinch from time-to-time—but if there is one thing I demand in this classroom, it is your utmost respect. Think you can give me that?"

Hesitantly, a couple of people, Harry included, nodded.

At that response, the dark, cold demeanor was gone and he reverted back to his earlier behavior. "Great! Sorry for the scary face, but, well, I take my profession very seriously. After a long history of disrespect in my past, I refuse to deal with it anymore. I am your professor, and you are my students. Capisce_?_"

When no one answered, he asked again, pointedly this time, "_Capisce?"_

Neville raised his hand. Enthusiastically, he called out, "You, what's up?"

"Prof—I mean, er, Danny—what, exactly is 'Ka-peesh'?"

He stared dumbly at Neville for a moment before smacking his forehead. "Oh, right. British, yeah. Um, it means 'understood'. Sorry, it's American slang."

Seeing the confused looks on everyone's face, he diverted the topic, "Moving on! So, in this course, you're going to be doing more than learning. You're also going to be _preparing_. Preparing for what, you may ask?" His expression turned somber. "You will be preparing for an invasion. An invasion of _ghosts._"

Half the class snickered, most of it coming from the Slytherin side. Malfoy was the loudest, not even bothering to hide his condescending bemusement. Harry had almost let out a chuckle, but the glower in Danny's eyes intimidated him into silence.

"I'm aware that most of you think this a joke because, well, _ghosts_. Ghosts can't even harm us, right?"

Though Harry found truth in the statement, there was something about the all-too-pleasant tone the professor was using that made him think otherwise.

Making eye contact with every kid in the room, he stated, "That assumption is, unfortunately, wrong. You see, _wizarding _ghosts are harmless, yes."

He paused, seeming to calculate everyone's reactions. "_Muggle _ghosts, on the other hand, are a completely different story."

There were sharp intakes of breath all around, some looking stunned and others looking suspicious. Harry himself didn't know what to feel; yes, muggles died too and most likely went to the same afterlife as wizards, but he hadn't ever thought about it, much less deemed it significant enough to ponder.

Danny sighed, though afterwards straightened up in a business-like manner. "I know it's a little hard to believe, but there are other things out there that aren't related to magic. Things that go bump in the night and can be just as powerful, if not more, as a trained wizard with a wand. In this class, you will learn how to fight off these beings. You will learn what they are and how they function."

Again, he paused for a moment. He met the eyes of every student in the room, wearing a grave expression. Harry hadn't completely believed him at first, but seeing him in this state lessened some of his doubt.

"I know this is difficult to understand, especially to believe," he said with an empathetic voice, "but trust me, I've seen it. My parents, at the moment, have an inter-dimensional _portal_ in their basement, that leads to an endless universe we call the _Ghost Zone_. They've been hunting and studying ghosts for years, thus the reason I'm involved in the profession today. You may not take me seriously now…"

He trailed off, staring at a couple of Slytherins in particular.

"….but…" he picked up, "You will. By the end of this course, everything you think you know about the world will change. _That, _I can promise you."

He attempted to smile at the class, but in the end it just turned into an awkward grimace.

"Jeez," he commented lightly, "You guys are staring at me like I just told you your pet cat just died."

Everyone was holding their breaths, watching him apprehensively. Even Harry was unsure how to act around him— to Harry, Danny seemed somewhat bipolar: easy-going one minute, rigid the next. He wanted to be able to rely on this professor, to maybe even consider him trustworthy as he did McGonagall and Dumbledore, but he wasn't certain that Danny was reliable. Perhaps, in the near future, he would know after he got acquainted better and discussed Danny with Dumbledore. But, not now. Not yet.

The professor sighed and walked over to a discrete metal door on one of the side walls. He placed his hand on the handle, about to open it, but stopped himself in favor of surveying the class behind him.

"This is the part where you can either choose to sit at your desks all day thinking I'm a psychopath, or put a little bit of faith in me and learn something that you actually might find really cool.

"I mean, I'd personally take the initiative to follow but, your decision." He shrugged, before opening the door and entering the neighboring room. Instead of allowing the door to close behind him, he left it open a tiny crack.

It was quiet in the class, the students looking around at each other as if waiting for someone to make the brave decision to go. Harry overheard Dean and Seamus behind him bickering in hushed voices about going; Dean wanted to go check it out, Seamus argued they should just leave the class.

"Can I just say…" Ron began quietly to Harry and Hermione, "That this bloke officially beats Dumbledore in the _strange_ department."

Hermione asked curiously, "You don't like him?"

"Like him?" Ron scoffed. "Are you serious? Man's a nutter if I've ever seen one. Talking about dimensions and muggle ghosts and whatever conspiracy he can come up with."

There was a few seconds of silence before Hermione slowly replied, "To be honest…I kind of like him."

"Of course you do, you always have a crush on the young male professors," Ron pointed out. Wrong thing to say, for Hermione stood up rapidly in her seat and, on the way to following the professor into the other room, jabbed Ron in the head with her elbow.

"Bloody—" Ron swore, glaring after her and ignoring the giggles of the Patil twins and Lavender Brown sitting at neighboring desks. "What in the name of Merlin was that for?"

Harry sniggered, "Probably for '_having the emotional range of a teaspoon'_."

Ron groaned, "We should probably follow her, shouldn't we?"

"Probably."

They simultaneously rose from their seats, the action encouraging a couple more students to join them. Walking across the classroom, towards the right end, Harry noticed Malfoy and his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle, grudgingly get up. They could complain all they wanted about this class, but they _had _to have at least been curious.

That was the only reason Harry hadn't up-and-left, after all. Of course, there was also the fact that this was a class and could directly affect his grades and, thus, his future; but, still, despite how insane Danny sounded, intuition was telling Harry to listen.

He might as well give the professor a chance. He had figured Dumbledore to be crazy, after all, until he realized how witty and intelligent the man could be. Perhaps Danny was a similar case.

When Harry entered through the partly-opened door, everything that he had thought was incredible before suddenly dimmed in comparison.

Sure, the fancy-schmancy technology in the classroom was pretty cool. But the _weapons_ and—_are those BAZOOKAS?—_scattered throughout the armory was absolutely—

"Wicked," Ron whispered, eyes darting back-and-forth between all the various guns and inventions.

Yeah, except, even 'wicked' couldn't possibly describe how articulate, and dangerous, the guns looked. Guns normally weren't much of a concern in the wizarding world, but he had a feeling _these_ guns, in particular, functioned differently. They, too, were decorated in the same green lines that had been all over the laboratory. If the door could function regardless of the castles' magic, most likely these weapons could operate as well.

The rest of the students filed in, all of them ogling over the weapons and roaming their eyes everywhere they could. Even the Slytherins look fairly impressed, which was quite a feat given that their beloved leader, Draco Malfoy, was rolling his eyes at everything and trying to get his house to follow along with him.

Further across the room, Danny stood, watching everyone's reactions with a tiny smile.

Once everyone was situated and the loud talking died down to soft whispering, Danny said, "This stuff may amaze you now, but by the end of the year you'll be unimpressed with how simple these weapons actually are."

Chuckling at some of the scared faces (particularly one Neville Longbottom) he comforted, "Don't worry! It's really not that dangerous. Thing is, though this stuff may be lethal to a ghost, it's completely harmless to humans."

A couple of students sighed in relief, Harry included . There was just something ominous about guns. Wands could kill just as easily, yes, but guns were much more brutal. More violent, more painful, more grimy. If Harry could choose, he'd rather a spell knock him out than a bullet traveling 176 mph through his heart.

"Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your perspective, we won't be learning how to use these just yet. You need to understand the basis of them first. You see, everything in this course comes down to ectoplasm. Ghosts are made of ectoplasm. Powers are generated by ectoplasm. These weapons were created using—_shocker—_ectoplasm!"

_Ecto-what?_

Blaise Zabini, voicing everyone's thoughts, inquired suspiciously, "And what, exactly, is this 'ectoplasm'?"

Danny paused, frowning in thought. "Hm. Can't really explain it now, but you'll know what it is by the end of next lecture."

The whispers had started up again. Pansy Parkinson, in her scratchy, whiny voice, complained about how absolutely absurd this whole course was to Draco and the other Slytherins. Hermione and Neville meanwhile marveled at the new, albeit unusual, material—and judging from the interested faces of those such as Dean and Seamus, they weren't alone.

Of course, there was also Lavender and the Patil twins comparing the crazy professor to "crazy Harry", but Harry had decided to neglect their comments and pretend as if he couldn't hear them.

"I'm sorry for all this new information," the professor apologized, cutting across the whispers and halting them immediately, "It's a lot to take in; trust me, I know. In the long run, though, it'll work to benefit you."

Hearing the severity in the professor's tone threw Harry off. At first, he considered the man crazy. But the more he spoke, the more genuine and, well, _normal_ he seemed.

That is, 'normal' by wizarding standards anyway.

Granted there was this entire laboratory that more or less freaked Harry out, but other than that…Danny wasn't so bad.

Ending the lesson, the professor concluded, "Thank you for bearing with my tardiness and lecture. Unfortunately, today will be cut very short, seeing as there is not much you can learn just yet. For now, I just want you to write a four-page essay on everything and _anything_ you know about ghosts and any spectral being. Could be a well-known myth or general fact, any information is good information."

Half the students lightly sputtered, about to raise inquiries, when the professor held his hand up.

"Many of you probably have questions, but I assure you they'll be answered in due time. On that note, enjoy the rest of your first day!"

He cheerily ushered them out of the room, waving off "but you can't do that!"s and "you can't leave us hanging!"s. Harry got the impression this was his goal all along: to stir up curiosity. Which, in retrospect, he certainly had.

By the time the last student, Lavender, exited through the giant metal door, it slammed shut in the rest of the wizards' faces—leaving confused students on one side and the mysterious professor on the other.

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**I probably could have spent more effort in fixing this up but…*shrugs* too lazy and too little time. **

**Sorry for the much longer wait than before! If I had this posted as soon as it was written, it would ruin my "flow" so to speak. I know that if I continuously post every day, I'll eventually hit some sort of hiatus and it'll take me forever to get through it. Plus, I need extra time to have it beta-ed and edited. So, one chapter a month helps regulate myself. That way, even if I'm finished with a chapter, I can work on the next one, and so on and so forth.**

**Speaking of, I can't wait to have the next few chapters up. I'm on the fifth chapter now and things are…well…getting interesting ;). Hint: it involves Umbridge.**

**Also, I should probably mention that I'm trying to stick to the canon as much as possible, so any requests for weird pairings—sorry, it's not my thing. I'm not much of a romantic anyway, so romance isn't the focus of this story (but I'll probably throw some lovey-dovey fluff in here every now and then). **

**Until next time!**

_~Amanda_

**P.S. IMPORTANT PLEASE READ AS THIS IS AN ADDRESS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:**

**Sorry for making this author's note longer but, in regards to how this AU universe works…**

**I've decided to change the years HP takes place in to fit in with the DP timeline. If I follow the DP timeline and add in the amount of years Danny has aged, this would make the setting take place in about 2013/2014 (so, right now :D). Honestly, they're really not that far apart so it won't have much of an effect anyway. But I'm just doing this so it makes sense and to answer any questions. **

**Keep in mind, this DOES take place in the future (for DP anyway). So, Danny IS older, and for all you know he could be married and have kids and certain people could know his secret (not that this is definitely the case, but just as a hypothetical example)…I know many of you are curious as to Danny's situation at home and how he came to Hogwarts but, again, you'll know in due time. It's not that I'm trying to keep anything a secret; it's just that I'd rather let out certain details in moderation so I don't spend an entire chapter on straight up filler information. **


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